I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 433

’W-Wait, do Z*alots actually exist?!’

I was thoroughly bewildered as I watched the entity charging at me, vivid Aura Blades blazing from both of its hands.

A machine that out of nowhere analyzed me and then rushed forward to liquidate me. It was hard to make sense of what was going on.

Unraveling the situation aside, however, one thing was absolutely clear.

Shi-i-ing!

That machine was dead set on killing me.

I barely managed to evade as the Mechanical Knight slashed with its Aura Blade.

Flawless, waste-free movements and a murderous hum. Getting sliced by that would undoubtedly inflict massive damage.

Cha-aeng!

The moment its right-hand attack missed, the knight instantly swept around with the left-hand Aura Blade.

In that split second, I gripped the Sword of the Heavenly Demon and hastily parried. And the moment our aura clashed, I realized it.

’Wh-Why is it so damn strong?!’

The Mechanical Knight possessed staggering physical strength.

And its Aura Blade was anything but ordinary either.

Even though I had overlaid my sword with an Aura Blade on top of the Sword of the Heavenly Demon, it wasn’t pushed back in the slightest.

It stood in stark contrast to the Butcher Ogre’s Aura Blade last time, which had been severed with ease.

Ji-i-ing—

It happened while our Aura Blades were locked against each other. A crimson beam leaked from the knight’s visage.

It was scanning my sword, not me. It seemed to have picked up on the fact that this blade was extraordinary.

"Huuup!"

"Explode!"

In the meantime, the rest of the party launched their respective strikes.

Ludwig with his Mythricon sword, and Lackey utilizing magic through his Mythricon gloves.

Chwareureuk!

Finally, Cain with his massive coffin. Each unleashed their most reliable attack.

Ordinarily, an opponent would dodge, but the knight stubbornly stood its ground, remaining locked in combat with my sword.

Kkang! Kwang!

There was a reason for its confidence. An invisible defensive barrier surrounded the knight’s body.

It was different from Body-Protecting Gangqi. It protected its body like a magical shield.

’Wait, but it’s locking swords directly with me. How does that work?’

Harboring that thought, I shoved my blade forward with overwhelming force.

Perhaps finding it hard to endure my relentless physical power, the knight leaped backward.

[Hostile intent confirmed. Categorizing all entities as targets for liquidation.]

The Mechanical Knight spoke in a flat, metallic voice. Catching my breath, I glanced over at Cain.

Unlike the Dullahan chassis, this construct had a futuristic design. On top of that, it possessed a high-performance AI.

Actually, in terms of sheer AI capability, Cain was far superior. That guy felt like it was strictly moving according to hardcoded routines.

"It feels a bit like Cain-ssi. Do you think there’s a stone statue or something similar inside?"

[I do not sense such a presence. Furthermore, it resembles a Guardian far more than myself.]

A Guardian, huh. It certainly was much closer to that category.

Rather than making dynamic, autonomous judgments like Cain, it acted purely on programmed routines.

Also, if that knight was a type of Guardian, there was a high probability a core was embedded somewhere inside it.

’The only problem is I don’t know where it’s located.’

Hwareureuk!

While I was contemplating that, the Mechanical Knight raised its hand skyward.

Above its palm, vivid flames condensed into a distinct sphere.

Even without asking, it was obvious that it was magic.

"Everyone, dodge!!"

Kwa-a-ang!

A colossal pillar of fire erupted straight out from the knight’s palm.

Even without my shout, everyone must have felt the impending danger, as they hurriedly scrambled out of the way.

Kwagwagwang!

The extending column of fire scored a direct hit on the forest. Ignited by the heat, the woods instantly began to incinerate.

I stared at the forest that had turned into a sea of fire in a second before snapping my head back toward the knight.

Shi-i-ing!

"!!!"

Before I even noticed its movement, the knight was already swinging a giant ’hammer’ right at my head.

I frantically rolled across the dirt, barely avoiding the blow. Immediately after, the knight’s hammer smashed heavily into the earth.

Kwang!

The instant the hammer slammed into the ground, debris exploded in every direction.

Because I was wrapped in Body-Protecting Gangqi, I didn’t suffer any real damage.

’Wait, wasn’t it wielding twin Aura Blades in its hands just a second ago?’

I stared at the knight in utter bafflement. The bastard was undeniably gripping a war hammer infused with an Aura Blade.

Just as I was wondering where it had pulled a weapon like that from, I realized the trick.

Seureureuk—

The hammer wriggled like a liquid metal, morphing and flowing back into the knight’s hands. Subsequently, Aura Blades projected outward from both wrists just like before.

From the looks of it, it could freely alter its weapons on the fly. The ranged magic harass was a bonus.

What kind of ridiculous engineering resulted in a hodgepodge like this? It was absurd.

Chwa-ak!

Absurdity aside, however, this thing was stupidly strong. That fact remained unchanged.

Defensive barriers covering blind spots, plus fluid versatility adapting to any combat scenario. It was a complete all-rounder.

Kwajik!The source of this chapter is novel⁠ping.com.

However, it wasn’t a perfect all-rounder. In particular, its shield depleted quickly.

Cain put all his weight into a downward smash with his coffin-flail. A single blow from that flail caused cracks to spiderweb across the knight’s shield.

Sensing danger as its shield fractured, the knight leaped back to re-establish distance.

Pajijik!

Just like before, the knight attempted to cast magic for long-range suppression. This time, it was lightning magic.

I expected a direct lightning bolt to fire out, but I was dead wrong.

Hwi-ik!

The knight hurled a spear formed of crackling lightning into the air. My eyes tracked it upward.

The lightning spear shot high into the sky and vanished into thin air. However, the resulting aftermath far exceeded my expectations.

Kureureung!

Storm clouds. Dark, ominous storm clouds blanked out the sky that had been clear and sunny less than a moment ago.

It took less than a single second. I wondered if such a feat was genuinely possible even with magic.

More terrifying than the dark clouds, however, was the roaring thunder. Usually, when thunder roars, something follows right behind it.

Beonjjeok!

And that was a massive bolt of lightning.

White lightning plunged violently down from the storm clouds, threatening us all.

Kwagwagwang!!! Kwagang!!

"Ugh!"

"Keuh...!"

Lightning cascaded down like a heavy torrential downpour. Thanks to my thick Body-Protecting Gangqi, I remained perfectly unfazed even when struck directly.

Because my Body-Protecting Gangqi was so dense, it could easily deflect natural forces like this.

"Kkyuaaaak! Kkyuaaa!"

"Pbyaaaak! Pbyaak!"

"Pbi-i-ik!"

The rest of the party was another story, though. The little ones, in particular, lost their minds in terror and scurried around erratically.

At this rate, someone might get separated and lost. I needed to handle this.

Shi-i-ing!

Dodging lightning strikes was troublesome enough, but the Mechanical Knight showed zero mercy.

Seizing the opportunity to finish me off, it pressed the offensive with even greater ferocity.

To make matters worse, the bastard possessed internal insulation resistance, remaining completely unharmed even when struck by its own lightning bolts.

Ultimately, the constant blinding flashes put me at a serious disadvantage. Frowning, I drove a heavy kick into the knight’s chest.

Taking advantage of its close approach, I spotted an opening and booted it away.

"Cain-ssi! Quickly, raise your sword high into the sky!"

[Raise my sword skyward?]

"Your body is made of metal! Act as a lightning rod!"

[Hah.]

Cain scoffed in disbelief, but there was no helping it. This was the best play available.

If I could, I’d love to erect a temporary shelter using ice magic, but even that wouldn’t be safe against lightning strikes.

Kwagwagwang!

Mounted on the Dullahan, Cain raised his blade high into the air.

He fulfilled the role of a lightning rod magnificently, but even that wasn’t a total solution.

"Lackey! Ludwig-ssi! Calm the kids down! If push comes to shove, fall back using Cheongseol’s spatial ability!"

In the end, I had no choice but to face the knight alone. Which was likely what the machine had intended all along.

The knight paid no mind to the rest of the party, stubbornly insisting on a single-minded duel with me.

Kwajik!

The knight’s martial combat proficiency was remarkably high. That much was undeniable.

However, perhaps because its AI was far inferior to Cain’s, distinct attack patterns quickly became obvious to my eyes.

Thanks to that, I created a breach with a single shoulder check and thrust my sword deep into its abdomen.

Although its shield blocked external impact, it seemed unable to withstand the sharp point of my Aura Blade.

Kkumul-kkumul—

’Ah, this cheating bastard.’

Yet it regenerated even that damage in an instant. I couldn’t help but sigh.

Of course, it wasn’t as if I hadn’t anticipated this. Didn’t it fluidly morph its weapons when it attacked me after I rolled on the ground earlier?

Seeing that, I had already deduced that this bastard possessed liquid self-repair capabilities.

Jjeojeojeok!

Which was why the moment I thrust my blade into its torso, I allowed extreme cold energy to permeate deep inside.

Before long, starting from its midsection, the knight’s body began to freeze over.

No matter how advanced its specifications were, a machine was still a machine. Its movements perceptibly stiffened.

’Cold energy really is the ultimate cheat code.’

Perhaps its hardcoded logic had glitched out, as the knight’s behavior became erratic.

Activating fire magic to thaw the ice in its abdomen was a logical choice.

However, the stupid thing proceeded to blast intense flames directly onto its own stomach. It relied way too heavily on its self-repair ability.

Kwajik! Kwajik!

I didn’t let this opportunity slip by. I drove my blade into various joints across its body to overload its processing system.

With every stab of my sword, its chassis rapidly froze from within. The knight’s movements turned completely bizarre.

It seemed its creators had never programmed an emergency response for freezing from the inside out.

[Damage level critical. Activating self-destruct mechanism.]

"Ah, f*ck me."

Even in death, this bastard managed to flip me off. Out of nowhere, it had initiated a self-destruct sequence!

In fact, its body began glowing a menacing bright red, radiating an aura that suggested it would detonate at any moment.New chapters come out on NovelPing first.

I didn’t know how big the self-destruct blast radius was, but it definitely wasn’t going to be pleasant.

’Core. Where is its core?!’

Widening my eyes, I desperately searched for the knight’s heart—its core power source.

Fortunately, thanks to my Eye Lantern, I caught a glowing pulse beneath the plating. It was located precisely in the center of its chest.

If I ripped that out, I could halt the detonation sequence. I flooded my left hand with dense aura.

’I only get one shot at this...!’

Trust in my physical weight class and aura strength. Deciding the timing was right, I plunged my hand straight into the center of the knight’s chest armor.

The Mechanical Knight’s chassis possessed structural integrity far exceeding hardened steel.

Kwajik!

However, my aura-clad hand was harder, and sharper. In an instant, my arm pierced straight through the knight’s chest cavity.

The moment my fingers penetrated the core housing, my grip locked onto something solid. I immediately yanked my arm backward with all my power.

Kwajijik! Kwajik!

The object presumed to be the core was ripped cleanly out of the chassis. Dozens of severed, sparking wires came trailing along with it.

Simultaneously, the self-destructing knight lost all power and completely shut down. Its massive body slumped lifelessly to the ground.

"Phew."

Catching my breath, I looked down at the core resting in my hand.

It looked similar to the core housed inside the forest Guardian, but its color was significantly deeper.

Seeing this confirmed that its architecture belonged to the Guardian lineage rather than Cain’s autonomous soul-vessel type.

"...Is it over?"

[It appears to have concluded.]

The instant the knight ceased functioning, the lightning cascading from the storm clouds abruptly stopped as well.

The party members, who had been running around frantically taking care of the kids, spoke up cautiously.

Stashing the core into my Subspace Backpack, I replied,

"Yes. It’s all finished—"

Ku-ung! Kung!

Right then. The very moment I turned my back, massive tremors reverberated from behind us.

The party members’ expressions turned completely pale with horror. With an ’it can’t be’ expression, I whipped my head around.

Kung!

Three units. Though each differed slightly in size and form, three constructs looking identical to the Mechanical Knight had landed.

Before I could even find words out of sheer dumbfoundedness, the smallest Mechanical Knight among them spoke.

[Existence of ancient humanity confirmed.]

Shi-i-ing! Shi-i-ing!

The small-statured Mechanical Knight flared brilliant Aura Blades from both of its hands.

The knights flanking it pulled out a giant war hammer and a tower shield respectively. Naturally, both were blazing with vivid, dense Aura Blades.

[Liquidate.]

The fight was far from over.

At the exact time Grylls was battling the newly arrived Mechanical Knights,

Asella was watching the entire scene unfold via the real-time video broadcast.

Though Grylls suffered quite an ordeal due to the sudden arrival of even more Mechanical Knights, he was systematically dismantling them one by one.

[Just! Die! Already! Please!]

"Whoa."

How could a human fight so brutally? Asella let out a soft exclamation of awe.

The second an opening presented itself on one of the knights, Grylls forcibly ripped away the opponent’s weapon—namely, the massive war hammer.

After snatching it, he swung it with all his physical strength, pounding the Mechanical Knight into complete metallic mush.

He was outrageously good at combat. It felt less like tactical calculation and more like raw, predatory instinct.

That instinct was so ridiculously refined that it drew constant gasps from Asella. Something like this could only be described as a god-given talent.

’If Goddess Aris were to see this... what kind of evaluation would she make?’

Asella grew curious. Watching Grylls fight like a wild beast, how would the Goddess judge him?

Would she praise him for deploying his martial talent in the right place, or compliment him for fighting like a wild beast yet with absolute combat rationality?

One might ask if both weren’t praise anyway, and indeed they were. The conclusion that he was a brilliant fighter remained unchanged regardless.

Knock, knock, knock—

[Asella. May I come in?]

It was while Asella was munching on bread while watching Grylls fight. Reyna called out from outside the door.

Asella granted permission while keeping the Gallery window open. Soon, the door swung open.

"Munch munch. Is everything prepared?"

"Yes. But are you still making do with bread for lunch? You’ll ruin your health at this rate."

"I’m’fiiine."

Asella hurriedly stuffed the remaining bread into her mouth. Reyna let out a quiet chuckle watching her.

Having finally swallowed the bread, Asella addressed her, wiping away breadcrumbs from the corners of her lips as a bonus.

"What is the citizens’ reaction?"

"Everyone is waiting for your official declaration. After all, Goddess Aris’s divine countenance was actually revealed, wasn’t it?"

"That’s right."

Asella stood up from her seat with an excited heart. Then she harbored a secret thought.

’With this, the number of people recognizing Grylls-nim as the Herald of God will surge.’

A somewhat sly thought.

Grylls himself would throw a fit saying he didn’t need any of that nonsense, but Asella felt differently.

’This way, when the day comes to bring Grylls-nim here in the future, there won’t be any political pushback!’

To state it once more, it was cunning as could be.

The bigger problem was that it stemmed entirely from genuine ’goodwill.’

’I may still be inadequate, but I must work hard!’

That, too, was a virtue of the Hero.